Console Corner: PlayStation 5 by 2021 after ‘end of life cycle’ comments?

It has been one of the biggest successes in video game history but the PlayStation 4 is officially entering ‘the last phase of its life cycle’.

Depending on when you were born and when you got into gaming you will have been here before ushering in a new generation of console and waving goodbye to a trusty old friend.

From the C64 to NES, Master System, SNES, Megadrive, N64, Mega CD, Gamecube, Dreamcast, PlayStation, XBox and their derivatives ever since to name but a few, technology is constantly advancing and so that goes hand in hand with the video game industry.

And it seems we could be waving goodbye to the PS4 - which has sold a staggering 74 million units worldwide since its release in 2013 - in the next couple of years.

During Sony’s Corporate Strategy Meeting, Playstation boss John Kodera was reported as saying that the console was entering the “final phase of its life cycle”.

It seems we could be waving goodbye to the PS4 - which has sold a staggering 74 million units worldwide since its release in 2013 - in the next couple of years

Damien Lucas, gaming columnist

Wall Street Journal reporter Takashi Mochizuki reported it on Twitter, mentioning that membership services like Playstation Plus will continue to provide revenue for Sony despite the obvious hit to sale of the PS4 now gamers know it won’t be around too much longer.

Kodera then gave another interview, where spoke about Sony “preparing for the future” and games industry consultant Serkan Toto translated the key points on Twitter.

“While he doesn’t use the word “PS5”, Kodera says (again) the PS4 entered the final stage of its lifecycle and that Sony will spend the next three years “preparing for the future”.